Twilight walked into the kitchen to grab a small snack. When she got there she saw Spike whipping up waffles with his trusty whisk, with a side of whipped cream. “Spike, dinner isn’t for another three hours.”
Spike looked up. “Oh, hi Twilight. These waffles aren’t for us. These are for Rarity.”
Twilight’s face dropped, alongside her wings. “Oh, uhh….”
“And after I give Rarity these waffles, she’ll finally understand how I feel about her.”
Twilight rolled her eyes slightly, mumbling “Oh, she already knows how you feel Spike.”
Spike chuckled. “Well yeah, Rarity knows that I’ve had a crush on her for quite a while. What’s it been? Maybe two-and-a-half years? But even though she knows about my crush, she still doesn’t fully comprehend how much I love her, because if she did, she would love me back.”
Twilight sighed silently, something that Spike failed to notice, and said “Are… are you sure about that?”
Spike narrowed his eyes. “Oh…I see. You still think that I don’t have a chance with her.”
“Spike, I know you don’t have a chance with her.”
“What do you know?!” Spike yelled, pointing his whisk accusingly at Twilight. “My love for her can’t be stopped! I’ve given Rarity lots of presents to show her how much I care about her! I’ve spent as much time as possible helping her out and spending time with her! And…”
“It’s making her feel uncomfortable Spike!” Twilight interjected with a yell. Spike dropped his whisk in shock. “All of those gifts, the way you won’t leave her alone; it’s creeping her out!”
“That’s crazy Twilight! If I was making Rarity feel awkward, she would have told me! How would you even know that?”
Twilight looked down at the floor, not wanting Spike to see the guilt in her eyes.
“I asked you a question!” Spike said as he lost his patience. “How would you know that?! There’s no way you could possibly know that. Unless….Unless…..”
You could hear a pin drop in the kitchen as Spike started to put two and two together. “Unless…..Rarity told you that…”
Twilight finally looked up. “I’m sorry Spike, Rarity just doesn’t like you in that way. She’s told me that several times over the past few months.”
Spike looked down at the waffle batter he was stirring up. Struggling to hold back tears, he poured the batter in the trash bin. “Why didn’t s-she tell me? W-why didn’t you tell me Twilight!?”
Twilight held up a hoof to rub her forehead. “Well I didn’t want to break your heart! And I thought that your crush on Rarity was something childish you would outgrow!”
“What?!” Spike said, feeling the words from his master pierce him. “My feelings for Rarity are not childish!”
“But the way you tried to pursue those feeling's sure was!” Twilight countered. “Relationships need time to grow. Trying to force them on someone against their will is foolish and selfish!”
Spike growled. He knew what Twilight was saying was true, but that didn’t make him feel any better. If anything, it made him feel worse, realizing how he treated the pony he loved. “But…”
“Look.” Twilight said with a sigh. “I know this is hard to hear, but you will never be Rarity’ special somepony…er…somedragon. I know that you feel angry, sad, bitter, and depressed right now. But you can’t dwell in those emotions. You need to move on Spike.”
Spike looked at the bowl of whipped cream. He scraped the home-made dairy topping into the trash bin. Holding back tears, Spike responded “I’ll…I’ll do my best.”
Twilight also had to hold back tears, seeing her beloved assistant so down-trodden as he left the room. She was so concerned about how Spike was feeling that she completely ignored how Spike had dumped perfectly good waffle batter and whipped cream instead of saving it for dinner.
Starlight Glimmer looked down the hallway. She sighed slightly. Even after living in the castle for nearly two months, she still had trouble navigating through the labyrinth-esque hallways and finding the room she was looking for. In this case, she was looking for Twilight’s office area, where she kept extra parchment and ink.
She used magic to open up the door in front of her, only to find a washing machine and dryer. “Ugh, why does she even need a washing-machine, she almost never wears clothes!”
Starlight shut the door and muttered. “She really needs to label these doors; they all look exactly the same.”
After mistakenly opening the doors to the kitchen, restroom, and banquet hall, Starlight finally managed to find the office. “Thank goodness I found……this?”
Starlight was surprised to see that a certain purple dragon was already there, using the ink, parchment, and a quill pen to produce what appeared to be a crude comic book. Granted, accidently seeing Spike doing something wasn’t a new experience for Starlight, but she had never seen Spike appear so…miserable.
His eyes were red, as if he had been sobbing uncontrollably. And his face was messy, covered in tiny chunks of diamonds and rubies. Starlight then noticed a huge bowl of precious gems, and deduced that Spike must have been scarfing them down. Her hypothesis was confirmed as she saw the dragon grab a claw-full of precious stones and stuff them in his face. After wolfing down the rare minerals, Spike noticed that Starlight entered the office area. “Oh…hi Starlight.”
“Spike, what in Equestria happened to you?”
The young dragon sighed. “Well, today I received some bad news. I learned that….a certain pony doesn’t love me. At least, not as much as I love her.”
Starlight processed what Spike had told her.
A certain pony?, Starlight thought to herself, I’m guessing that must be Rarity. But he doesn’t want to name her directly. Oh, poor thing, he was obviously smitten with her.
“So after receiving that terrible news,” Spike continued. “I locked myself up in my room and cried a bunch. Then I grabbed all these gems that I was gonna give a certain somepony and started comfort eating.”
“But how did you end up here?” Starlight asked. “What’s with these drawings your working on?”
“Well, I need a way to cope with my broken heart, so I’m making a fan-comic of my favorite series, Power Ponies.” Spike answered. “It’s gonna be about how Humdrum, the underappreciated sidekick of the Power Ponies, realizes that Radiance, who is one of the Power Ponies, will never love him the way that he loves her.”
Starlight sighed a bit. “Spike, writing a comic that is a thinly-veiled parallel of your own life story isn’t going to solve your problems. Plus, what happens after you finish this fan-comic? It’s not like there is some form of magic communication that lets you spread your story to other ponies.”
Spike responded “Well, even if it’s a bad idea, how else will I deal with all this pain and heartbreak?! None of my friends understand the pain of loving someone who won’t love you back. Well, except for……”
“….Except for who Spike?” Starlight asked innocently
“Rarity.” Spike stated, more to himself than to Starlight. No longer able to suppress his feelings or tears, Spike started wailing.
Starlight looked at the weeping dragon with eyes of empathy and stated “I know how it feels to love someone who doesn’t love you the same way.”
Spike looked up into Starlight’s eyes and blubbered, “Y-You do?”
Starlight sighed heavily. “Yeah, it’s happened to me. Twice. With the same pony.”
Spike couldn’t help but ask “Well, who was it?”
Starlight sighed once again. “Sunburst.”
Now it was Spike’s turn to reflect on what he was told.
Wow, no wonder Starlight was so bitter about him when she first told me and Twilight about him. Wait, she said it happened twice.
“So, um, I take it the first time Sunburst didn’t return your feelings was when you were kids.” Spike deduced. “When did it happen again?”
Starlight looked at Spike. “Last week.”
“Huh?”
“Sunburst and I have been writing letters ever since we reunited. It was great, and my old feelings for him started to reignite. I wanted to take our relationship to the next level, I wanted to see if he would like to start a long-distance relationship with me. But….”
“But what?” Spike asked.
Starlight struggled to hold back the tears welling in her eyes. “B-but last week I received a letter from Sunburst, eager to tell me about his new marefriend. He sounds super-duper happy in his new relationship and part of me is happy that my oldest friend is happy. But…but…”
Starlight’s sentence was interrupted by tears and sobbing. It didn’t last long though. The unicorn sighed once again. “So yeah Spike. I know what it’s like to be rejected by someone you love.”
Spike looked down. On top of the heartbreak he was dealing with, now he felt awful that his new friend also was going through an incredibly similar experience. “Wow…Starlight I…..I didn’t know. I’m so sorry that happened to you!”
A tiny smile appeared on Starlight’s face. “It’s OK Spike. I might be going through a lot emotionally, but I have friends to support me. Like you, just now. And Twilight has really encouraged me. I know that eventually, when I’ve grown enough, I’ll meet the right pony for me. And the same goes to you Spike.”
Starlight pulled Spike in for a hug. “It’s going to be OK.”
Spike was taken back at the hug at first. But it quickly filled him with comfort and helped him realize that what Starlight was saying was true. Things were going to be just fine. After a while.
“Thanks Starlight.” Spike told her as they ended their embrace.
“No problem.” Starlight responded. “If you ever need to talk about what you’re going through, I’m all ears.”
For the first time since their conversation started, Spike smiled. This, in turn, brought a smile to Starlight’s face. Which encouraged Spike even more.
Wow, Starlight’s a great friend. I can’t remember the last time somepony showed this much concern for me! I’m glad I was able to cheer her up and see her…her lovely smile. Almost as lovely as that mane style. It looks gorgeous…..
Time froze for Spike. Standing there, for the first time, he saw the unicorn before him in a whole new light.
“…..”
“Um, Spike? Are You OK?” Starlight asked.
“….”
“…”
“…Spike?”
“I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!” Spike screamed suddenly, as he ran out of the office.
“Too much information Spike!” Starlight yelled at the dragon who was already long gone.
Spike rushed into his bedroom. After locking the door, he plopped down onto his bed and sighed.
Why? Why did this have to happen now….